1、1Universities Encourage New Students to Go It AloneSun Xiaochen1 With an eye to increasing college students independence and improving their social skills, Chinese universities are encouraging freshmen to enroll by themselves without their parents help.2 It used to be quite a scene when families acc
2、ompanied their children to college enrollment in China.3 Vehicles packed with luggage usually filled campuses, while parents carrying bags would follow their children everywhere to help them handle procedures and get them settled in at dormitories.4 However, it was a different scene at Tsinghua Univ
3、ersity on Wednesday, when more than 3,000 freshmen reported to school and finished all the procedures themselves.5 A yellow line drawn across the entrance of the school arena separated parents from their children, who entered the gym alone with their documentation. The students would spend as much a
4、s three hours dealing with the enrollment procedures, including department registration, credential collection and room distribution.6 Senior schoolmates helped new students transfer their baggage and explore the campus.7 The move, launched by Tsinghua University last year, is expected to improve yo
5、ung Chinese peoples self-reliance and independent spirit at a crucial stage of life, university President Chen Jining said.8 “An important goal of higher education is cultivating students independent personalities, which should be embodied in every process of campus life,” said Chen, who wrote a bri
6、ef message with the admission letter that encouraged students to leave their parents behind on enrollment day.9 “How can youngsters grow up with their parents spoiling them and taking care of everything? We expect to make a difference from the beginning.”10 The call got a positive response from stud
7、ents.11 Feng Lei, a student from Gansu province who will study hydraulic engineering, took a 25-hour train ride to Beijing with only one schoolmate.12 “Its my first long trip without my parents, and I am actually quite excited about it,” he said. “Coming to the university opens a new stage of my lif
8、e, and I should learn to take care of myself from the start.”213 Feng said he has already made three new friends after enrollment and it really helps to get to know each other.14 Inspired by Tsinghua, other universities have also launched their own campaigns to encourage students to enroll alone. Ex
9、perts said these independence-improving initiatives should be promoted.15 “The lack of independence has been a major concern for kids born in the 1990s as parents arranged everything, which instead hampered their all-around development,” said Xiong Bingqi, vice-president of the 21th Century Educatio
10、n Research Institute.16 “Such campaigns will help them realize that they have to live their lives on their own, and schools should provide more independence-developing programs to go with academic education.”3高校鼓励新生独立孙晓晨1 着眼于提高高校大学生的独立能力和改善他们的社交能力，中国高校正在鼓励新生不要父母陪伴独自去学校报到。2 过去中国父母亲陪伴孩子去大学报到，那场景好不热闹。3
11、 校园里挤满了满载行李的汽车，拎着大包小包的父母总是跟在孩子们后面，帮助他们处理各种报到手续，并帮助他们在宿舍安顿好。4 但是，本周三，在清华大学，人们看到了一个全然不同的场景，3,000 多名来学校报到的新生，都独立完成了所有报到手续。5 在学校场地入口处划了一条黄线，把家长和学生分开，学生们带着报到材料独自进入体育馆。他们将花上足足三个小时办完入学手续，包括去系里注册，领取证件和分配宿舍。6 高年级同学帮助新生搬运行李和熟悉校园。7 人们期望这项在去年由清华大学发起的活动能帮助中国年轻人在其人生关键阶段提高自力更生和独立自主的精神，清华大学校长陈吉宁说道。8 “高等教育的一个重要目的是培养
12、学生独立的个性，这应该体现在校园生活的每一个过程中， ”陈校长说。他在入学通知书上附了一个短信，鼓励学生在新生报到的当天独自来学校，不要父母陪伴。9 “父母溺爱，包办一切，年轻人怎么能成长呢？我们希望他们从一开始就做出改变。 ”10 这一号召得到了学生的积极响应。11 来自甘肃省的冯雷将要学习水利工程，他只有一位同学为伴，坐了 25 小时的火车来到北京。12 “这是我第一次没有父母陪伴的长途旅行，其实我还是非常兴奋的， ”他说道。 “上大学开启了我人生的新旅程，我应该从一开始就学会自己照顾自己。 ”13 冯说报到后他已经结交了三个新朋友，这确实有利于大家相互了解。14 在清华大学的启发下，其他高校也纷纷仿效，鼓励学生独自报到。专家们认为这些提高独立自主能力的倡议应该得到弘扬。15 “缺乏独立自主的能力已成为人们对 90 后孩子的一大忧虑，因为父母亲为他们安排好了一切，这反而阻碍了孩子们的全面发展， ”二十一世纪教育研究院副院长熊丙奇说道。416 “这些活动将帮助学生意识到他们必须独立生活，学校在进行学历教育的同时，应该开展更多的培养独立自主能力的活动。 ”
